Not a bacon sarnie in sight on Great British Menu

Forget fish and chips, roast beef or a fry-up. According to the results of an eight-week BBC search for the best British food, smoked salmon with blinis from Northern Ireland and Scottish loin of roe venison are more the order of the day.

Over 40 episodes, the BBC2 show The Great British Menu has conducted a nationwide competition among regional chefs using the best ingredients from their areas. At the end of each week of cooking a panel of experts judged the menus, with the best chefs moving forward to a public vote during the final week of the series. Better-known names including Gary Rhodes and Antony Worrall Thompson were knocked out in the heats.

The final menu is a victory for the nations and regions, with the four courses hailing from Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and the north of England. Pru Leith, one of the judges, said the winning menu combined the best of the traditional in Richard Corrigan's smoked salmon and Marcus Wareing's custard tart, with innovation such as Bryn Williams's fish course of pan-fried turbot.

Corrigan said he was "happy for the people and the food I represent in Northern Ireland." He added: "There's nothing more British than smoked salmon and in Northern Ireland we do it exceptionally well." The winning menu will be served to the Queen and 300 guests at a lunch later this month to commemorate her 80th birthday, which will also be filmed for a behind-the-scenes television show.

The programme, which has been well watched for its daytime slot, is an example of the surge in interest in British food and cooking. Farmers' markets are springing up throughout the country, offering fresh local ingredients to customers inspired by an increasing number of cooking shows.

ITV is planning to team Anneka Rice with Andi Peters for a new cookery show called Sunday Feast, pitched against BBC1's Sunday Brunch. The broadcasters will also go head to head on Saturday mornings after ITV poached Worrall Thompson from BBC1's Saturday Kitchen to front the similar Saturday Cooks.